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Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Travel is an Incredible Opportunity

I have been
travelling regularly on work for over a decade now. As a kid, my travel (mostly
by bus & train) for outstation trips was limited to 2-3 times a year. My
first business travel was in 2002 when I was called for an Interview by
Shoppers Stop in Mumbai for the role of a Supervisor for their Chennai Store. I
negotiated hard with the HR guy to get me a flight ticket although it was out
of bounds by their policy. I flew Air India – a noon flight onward and a 2am
flight for return since that was the lowest fare. Then I started flying across
South India to expand the business of Benetton in 2005 with monthly visits to
Delhi to our HO. The first visa on my passport was in 2006 and well, it was for
Switzerland where I went to learn Travel Retail which I was implementing at
Bangalore International Airport (BIAL). I flew to Singapore First Class onward
and Business Class return for the first time, to speak at a conference on
Indian Aviation in 2008 with my tickets being sponsored by the Organisers. Travelled to 10 countries across Asia and Europe
during my stint at BIAL. My domestic travel peaked during my stints at Café Coffee
Day in 2009 where I set-up 140 cafes pan-India and thereafter at Royal Enfield
Motorcycles in 2012 where I set-up 160 Dealerships across India.

Those days,
I literally used to live out of a suitcase, travelling 3-4 days a week, more
than 40 weeks a year. It was a lot of fun although tiring. But a sense of
accomplishment looking at my professional achievements down the years. I have
met many people at Airports – from childhood classmates to celebrities to
politicians to academicians to Industrialists and a long list of personalities.
I even travelled with a person of the third gender from Hyderabad to Bangalore
once and trust me, it was some experience I would say.

Since 2014
my travel reduced to almost 10-15 days a year when I chose to become an
Entrepreneur and started my offline Retail venture Smiling Baby in Chennai. I
restarted my travel since 2017 when I began focusing on my Consulting
Assignments. Interestingly, I have travelled over 45 weeks during the past 52
weeks, mostly by train since I prefer taking an overnight journey for distances
less than 500 kms.

I have
always travelled in a/c coaches this past year and mostly in the 2nd
A/c Coaches since the bills are paid by my clients. I have always wondered why
& how some people manage to fly Business or First Class and have done a lot
of searches on this topic online. Empirical data suggests that those who fly in
higher classes are more productive upon arrival in their destination cities. They
get to sit comfortably, sleep on a flat bed, read a lot, get less distracted
while working due to fewer passengers and hence are refreshed by the time they
arrive in the next station. Indian Prime Minister Mr. Modi is a classic example
– we have seen him fresh as an Apple just the day upon arrival even after
trans-Atlantic flights!

I travelled
on 1st a/c last night from Chennai to Madurai and this was so
comfortable. Even in 2nd A/c, sometimes I get side upper or lower
berths and I have seen my productivity nose-dive the next day. But the 1st
a/c coaches are so comfortable. The berth is wider, fewer people, lesser banter
and more comfortable a/c with a bigger pillow and nicer rugs. Trust me, the day
after such comfortable travel is not just a more productive day but also a happier
day, which boosts morale and work efficiencies. I travelled in 3rd
A/c a week back and had a upper berth onward and lower berth up on return and
it was not even just uncomfortable but very frustrating. The next two days were
a nightmare.

This is not to demean the millions of people who
travel in non-a/c coaches or other means of public transport. Travelling
comfortably works best for me to increase my productivity and I believe, to
each his own. Her own. Whichever mode, travel is a great opportunity to learn
new things, meet new people and understand life better during the journeys.

I am a Retail professional with over 18 year's experience. Started My Retail Journey scopping Ice-Cream at Baskin Robbins' first outlet in Chennai in 1997, have played a miniscule role in the Great Indian Retail Story which is yet to be fully told. Have worked with RPG Retail and The Future Group in Managerial roles. Set-up the first ever organized Retail business at Bangalore International Airport in 2006. Was responsible for setting up and operating 140 outlets for Cafe Coffee Day and 160 outlets for Royal Enfield. Visiting Faculty at B-Schools of repute since 2005. Been an Entrepreneur since Aug. 2014. Now running two start-ups.